1. Field of the Invention
The instant invention relates generally to hand held tools and more specifically it relates to a universal aircraft steering by-pass pin.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the commercial airline industry, one of the supplied pieces of equipment, with the purchase of every aircraft is a pin which when inserted into its prescribed receptacle disables the steering mechanism from being engaged in the cockpit. The pin is a safety feature designed to keep the ground personnel from being tossed around like a rag doll should the pilot inadvertently turn the nose gear while the tow bar is attached to the aircraft.
Boeing, McDonald Douglass, Lockheed and the European manufacturers have each designed their own mechanisms to accomplish the task of disabling the nose gear, whether the methodology is to pull a lever, rotate a handle, or twist a knob. The commonality in these systems is the use of a pin to be inserted before the tow vehicle pushes the aircraft away from the gate and the removal of the pin to enable cockpit steering.
Each airline at every airport maintains a ground crew which is responsible for preparing the aircraft for its next scheduled flight. In airports where the proximity of one parked aircraft to another prevents maneuverability, or to engage the aircraft engines would endanger people or the structures surrounding the aircraft, a tow vehicle is used to remove the aircraft to a position where the pilot can start the engines and steer the aircraft to the appropriate runway.
The towing process is initiated by an airline ground crew employee who arrives at the aircraft with an inventory of pins and a tow bar. After insertion of the pin, the tow bar is attached and with the arrival of the push-out vehicle the aircraft is removed from the gate to a predetermined position, where the tow vehicle and tow bar are disengaged from the nose gear. The pin is removed and the captain is given the authority over the aircraft.
Each airline manufacture has designed its own pin for each type of aircraft, which can be of varying lengths and thicknesses, such as for Boeing 720, 720b, 707, 727, 737, 747, 757 and 767. These types of aircraft span several decades and necessitate change in design. Although these changes are welcomed within the airline industry, it creates a cumbersome system where aircraft ground crew vehicles are required to carry around a dozen or so differing pins, but also may be carrying a number of the same pin for the more popular aircraft arriving at that airport.
Further complications arise as more countries are developing their own aircraft industries and vying for their place in a world marketplace. In the case of the French Airbus A-300, the pin is only a couple of inches long, which makes it difficult to keep track of, especially amongst all the other pins. If the location ribbon is lost the size of the pin makes it hard to locate.
Numerous hand held tools have been provided in prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,475,936 to Allen; U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,832 to Abbott; U.S. Pat. No. 4,926,721 to Hsiao and U.S. Pat. No. 5,461,950 to Iwinski all are illustrative of such prior art. While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.